Azerbaijan has declared all Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) deputies who voted in favor of a January decision not to ratify the powers of the Azerbaijani delegation in that organization "persona non grata".

"I want to remind you that all the people who voted in favor of this decision have been declared "persona non grata" in our country. If they want to visit Azerbaijan before the restoration of the powers of our delegation in PACE, they will be denied entry," said Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Ayhan Hajizade.

Following the vote, Baku announced that it is ending its participation in PACE and accused the organization of being anti-Azerbaijan and “xenophobic”.

On August 23, PACE German delegation head Frank Schwaben accused Baku of not wanting to remain a member of the Council of Europe. In an interview with Azatutyun radio, Schwabe also announced his intention to visit Azerbaijan during the COP29 international climate conference.

Schwabe stated that he is sure that Azerbaijan will not invite the PACE mission to observe the parliamentary elections to be held in that country on September 1.

According to Hajizadeh, "Shwabe is well aware that the interrupted mandate of the Azerbaijani delegation in the PACE is the only reason that the observers of that organization did not receive a corresponding invitation.

“Very serious concerns remain as to [Azerbaijan’s] ability to conduct free and fair elections, the separation of powers, the weakness of its legislature vis-à-vis the executive, the independence of the judiciary and respect for human rights, as illustrated by numerous judgments of the European Court of Human Rights and opinions of the Venice Commission,” the Assembly said in the January 24 resolution, based on a report by Mogens Jensen (Denmark, SOC).  

PACE also cited the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, noting that Azerbaijan’s leadership “did not acknowledge the very serious humanitarian and human rights consequences” stemming from the lack of free and safe access through the Lachin Corridor, and recalling its condemnation of the September 2023 military operation “which led to the flight of the entire Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia and to allegations of ‘ethnic cleansing’.”

Photo: Encyclopedia Britannica